


What Happens At The Bonfire Stays At The Bonfire

by Alice_Writes_Stuff



Series: These Cold Vienna Nights [2]
Category: Ashes to Ashes (UK TV)
Genre: ((sort of)), Accidental Arsonists, Alex is unsure, And life in general, And simple, Basically, Bonfire Night Party, Bonfires, Both about Gene, Drinking, Everyone is tired, Everyone needs a break, F/M, Fade to Black, It's more a reference to The Salt And Pepper Diner, John Mulaney reference, Kissing, Mixtape, Period Typical Attitudes, This fic was meant to be short, but it got out of hand, there's a lot going on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 19:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16625390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/Alice_Writes_Stuff
Summary: A belated (really belated) Bonfire Night one-shot. After a long week, Gene and his team have a Bonfire Party of their own. Alex decides to go, and ends up drunk, and finds herself even more confused than usual. It turns out that she isn't ready to analyse every aspect of this world just yet, and that sometimes, acting on impulse really does cause more problems than it solves.





	What Happens At The Bonfire Stays At The Bonfire

**A.N- Hey, guys! This was meant to go up last week, but I had a lot on, so it kept getting pushed back. Also, it was not supposed to be this long, so I apologise for that. This is my first time writing in this fandom, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. As always, I own nothing- including the songs that are mentioned, and their lyrics. Don't forget to read and review!**

It was the morning of the fifth of November, 1981, and Alex Drake was already wishing she didn't have to come into work today. She and her fellow police officers had been working overtime all week, and by this point Alex was about ready to pass out at her desk. It was honestly a miracle that she had made it in at all this morning. Not everyone had, she realised, now that she was looking around the office. Shaz had, though she actually had passed out at her desk. Chris and Ray had made it in as well, and they seemed to be, of all things, playing a game of Hangman. Honestly, it was moments like these where Alex found herself questioning how either of these men ever got onto the police force in the first place.

“Manchester,” she heard Ray state.

“How'd you guess that from three letters?” Before Ray could respond, however, the door swung open, and Gene Hunt entered the room.

“Right, you lot!” he announced, striding into CID. Alex quickly returned to the report she had been working on, and around her, the others started getting back to work too, or at least pretending to. Shaz woke with a start, and tossed the magazine she'd been sleeping on under her desk. She stared down at the place it had once occupied, though even Alex could see there was nothing there. Ray stubbed out his cigarette, but otherwise didn't do anything, and Chris took the opportunity to go and make a cup of tea. The hangman game remained on Ray's desk, along with the chair Chris had just left.

The truth was written all over the room- it had been a long week for all of them. Apart from the usual criminals and murderers of London, they also had to deal with all the people who had been trying to turn Bonfire Night into a week-long event- with no regard for the consequences. The result had been an office full of exhausted police officers. Exhausted and mildly hungover, thanks to Ray's decision to bring a couple of bottles of alcohol to their shift last night. Something strong for him and Chris, and something lighter for Alex and Shaz. Unsurprisingly, neither of them had liked that. Shaz had grabbed the bottle, then passed it to Alex, and all four of them had ended up slightly drunk by the end of the night.

“Look, I know you're all tired, but we've just gotta get through one more night of this, then it's over.” Alex wanted to sigh with relief, but decided against it. Gene was quiet for a moment, looking around the office. Then he continued. “Alright, I'll do you all a deal. If you can make it through tonight without any problems, then tomorrow night we can have our own bonfire.” There were several nods of approval, and though Alex wouldn't say so out loud, she had to admit that she liked the sound of the idea as well.

The rest of the day passed in relative peace and quiet- or as near to that as you could get at Fenchurch East, anyway. Even Alex's visions stayed quiet, though she was too tired to really think about what that meant. They had gotten fewer and farther between after her parents had died, though the significance of that was still unclear. She actually thought that she might end up falling asleep just then, figuring that whatever strange dreams she had, it would be worth it just to get a few minutes of rest. She let her eyes drift shut, just for a moment…

“Ma'am,” a voice said. Alex blinked, and saw that it was Shaz. “Are you alright, ma'am?” She nodded.

“I'm fine, Shaz. It's just been a long week.”

“Yeah, it has. Not to worry, though, it's almost over, isn't it?” Alex nodded again. At that point, Shaz glanced down at her watch. “Alright, I'm gonna go and get lunch. D'you wanna come too?”

“Sure,” she replied, picking up her bag and getting to her feet, before following Shaz out of the office.

That night, Gene assigned Alex, Shaz, Ray, Chris and Viv to hold down the fort in the office, while he and the rest of their department went out on duty.

“You're in charge, Bolls,” he told her before he left. “Keep everyone standing and sober, and everything should be fine.” A part of her- a small, yet irritatingly persistent part- wanted to do something stupid then. Maybe ask him to stay, maybe ask to go with him, maybe… no, that would be truly, truly stupid. Maybe she could just reach out, grab his arm, and… But before she could do anything, he had stepped back, and the moment was gone. Not that there had been anything there to begin with.

Alex sighed, and went to sit back at her desk. She really needed to stop doing things like this, to make more of an effort to maintain a distance between her and the others. To remember that this place, whether it was real or unreal, was just a temporary thing. That soon, she would get home, and all of this would be over.

But it was getting harder and harder. Because these people were starting to become her friends- yes, even Chris and Ray. As for Gene, Gene was… well, Gene was a bit more complicated. And not in a good way, either. Not that it mattered, of course. Because nothing could ever happen there. It was not a risk she could afford to take. Not if she ever planned on breaking away from this world.

Shortly after Gene had left, the five of them headed into the kitchen and started formulating their plan for the evening.

“The sensible thing to do,” Alex began, “would be to work in shifts. Say, one of us works for a couple of hours while everyone else gets some sleep, then someone else takes over, and so on and so forth.”

“And what happens if more than one of us is needed at a time?” Ray pointed out.

“Do you have any other ideas?”

“I reckon we could either split up into a couple of groups, or we could try and power through the best we can.” They agreed on his first idea- trying to power through anything seemed out of the question right now. Alex, Shaz and Viv took the first shift, and an alarm was set to make sure that Chris and Ray would not oversleep, and would be in a position to switch over when the time came.

“Does anyone want a coffee?” asked Shaz. Alex nodded, but Viv shook his head.

“I've had too much coffee this week already,” he said, by way of explanation. Alex studied him for a moment, and he did look a bit jittery.

“D'you want something else, then? Tea, maybe?” That time, he nodded.

About ten minutes later, they were all sitting with their drinks. Alex wondered when the first arrest of the night would be made, when this brief moment of calm would end.

It ended sooner than expected, with a drunken man who had accidentally set fire to his neighbour's garden shed in trying to carry out his own fireworks display. Fortunately, nobody had been hurt, but getting the man to co-operate had proven tricky.

“Listen, love,” he said to Shaz, clearly thinking she would be easy to get around. “D'you think you could let me off this once? I ain't done nothing, honest, it's all a misunderstanding.” Shaz smiled, though it was a far cry from her usual warm expression.

“No, you listen, love.” The condescension in her voice was almost palpable. “You've been caught for arson, d'you really think we're gonna let you off with this? There ain't a cop in this city that'd let you off with that, and if there was, they should be fired. And you wouldn't ask any other cop in this team to give you a pass. You just think, cause we're women, that we're too nice to challenge you. Well, I can tell you right now, we ain't too nice for that. Are we, ma'am?”

“Of course not, Shaz.” Alex fixed her gaze on the man. “Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to help us fill out this report, and then you're going straight to a holding cell. Or you can go there right now, and we can pick this up tomorrow. Either way, you aren't walking out of here scot-free.” She offered him the pen, sliding the form over to him, so that he could check what they had so far, which was not very much. The man took the pen from her hand, and threw it into a corner of the room. His aim was fairly impressive, considering how intoxicated he was. “The cells it is, then.”

Though it took some effort, they eventually managed to get the man into the holding cell. They had about ten minutes left of their shift, and Alex and Shaz were spending those last minutes sitting at Alex's desk and talking.

“Do you think that they'll remember to wake up on time?” Alex asked.

“I'm sure they will, ma'am.” She smiled, and Alex remembered what she'd always thought about Shaz, before her parents had died, and the status of this world had been called so sharply into question. She was so vibrant, so alive. If she had really come from Alex's subconscious, then she was certainly one of the most vivid things here.

“Let's hope you're right,” Alex muttered, wishing that she had as much faith in their colleagues as Shaz did.

To her great relief, it turned out that Shaz was right. No sooner had their two-hour shift ended, than Chris and Ray entered the office. They still looked half asleep, but at least they were both standing. That was better than nothing, she supposed. Alex decided to tell Ray about the accidental arsonist- she would've told Chris as well, but he was busy talking to Shaz.

“D'you want us to give him a good kicking?”

“I wouldn't have worded it like that, but if it gets the report filled out, a little persuasion would go a long way.”

“Sure thing, ma'am.” After that, Alex, Shaz and Viv left, and Alex had to admit, she hadn't been so grateful to get to her bed in a long time.

The rest of the night continued much like this, sleeping for two hours, working for two more, and so on and so forth. It seemed almost impossibly long, and it was a relief when the morning finally came.

“Good work, team,” Gene said once they were all assembled in the office. “Although, I could've done without the battered up bloke in the holding cell,” he added, with a pointed look at Chris and Ray. The accidental arsonist had been one of a handful of arrests they'd made last night, but since most of those had not been handled by Alex, Shaz and Viv, they had panned out a little differently. “That being said, though, you've done well, and you've all earned your bonfire. You don't have to come, but if you are, then bring something to drink.” He paused. “And somebody bring a tape, so we've got something to listen to.”

“I'll do it,” Chris volunteered. Ray shook his head.

“No, you won't.” Chris opened his mouth to protest, but Ray continued. “The last time we let you be in charge of the music, you put in a tape that was just a single Tom Jones song on repeat!”

“It was meant as a joke!”

“No-one was laughing!” Shaz raised her hand.

“Actually, I thought it was kinda funny.”

“Well, you would,” Ray grumbled.

“While this is all very entertaining,” Gene cut in, “I suggest we get back to work.” He turned his attention to Chris. “Christopher, I'm gonna give you one more go at doing the music. If we have a repeat of the Tom Jones fiasco, however, I won't be quite so generous.” Chris nodded, and they all resumed their work.

In the end, the bonfire party was attended by Alex, Gene, Viv, Ray, Chris and Shaz. There wasn't room in the Quattro for all six of them, so Chris and Shaz took a different car. They met in Gene's back garden, where the bonfire was being set up. There were a few logs placed around it, and they all took a seat on them.

“Alright, our first order of business- drinks.” Gene produced a bottle of beer, setting it down in front of him. “Bolly, you're next.” Alex had brought a bottle of red wine. She'd contemplated actually bringing some Bollinger, but the wine had been cheaper. One by one, they all produced a bottle of something- beer, wine, cider, until it was Shaz's turn. She reached into her bag and pulled out two bottles. One was a particularly strong brand of vodka, which brought back some bad memories for Alex. The other was a bottle of lemonade. The vodka was passed to her.

“Something strong for us,” Shaz said, unaware that she had presented Alex with the root cause of most of her university hangovers. Then she smiled at Chris and Ray. “Now, the vodka might be a bit much for you two, so you can have this instead.” She handed Ray the bottle of lemonade. “It's a bit lighter.” They both stared at her for a moment, saying nothing. Alex understood where this had come from- it was a little payback for last night. She smiled warmly at Shaz, and took a swig from the vodka.

Once they'd all had a bit to drink, the tape deck came out. Alex was glad that she hadn't been put in charge of the music. She was pretty sure that she'd forgotten how to make a mix-tape by now, having grown so used to CDs and iPods and playlists. Plus, the sort of music that she would've wanted to put on hadn't come out yet. She'd liked to think, before the shooting, that her music taste had been quite cool and up to date- though Molly would probably insist otherwise. Now, though, she felt a bit out of the loop. So really, it was just as well that she hadn't been in charge.

Chris pulled the tape he'd made earlier that day from his jacket pocket. Everybody seemed to be waiting, almost with bated breath, to see what would happen. What were they so afraid of? Had the Tom Jones fiasco, as Gene had called it, really been that bad? Finally, the tape was placed in the deck, it was switched on, and the opening beats of Don't Stop Believing started to play.

“Oh, thank God,” Gene muttered.

“Don't thank Him just yet, Guv,” Ray pointed out. “Let's wait till the song's over first.” So, they let the song play. Alex knew the words, but wasn't going to start singing along to them. She wasn't quite drunk enough for that yet.

They were all relieved when Don't Stop Believing was replaced by The Human League's Don't You Want Me? As much as Alex had liked the previous song, she did not like it enough to listen to it on repeat. Still, she liked this one, too. And it turned out that she wasn't the only one. While she wasn't sure if she was drunk enough to start singing along, it appeared that this was not a question her boss was struggling with. He was quiet, though- quiet enough that nobody besides Alex, who happened to be sitting next to him, noticed. At first, she left him to it. But eventually, she couldn't resist joining in.

“I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, that much is true,  
But even then I knew I'd find a much better place,  
Either with or without you.”

They kept going for the rest of the song, somehow managing to escape the attention of the others. This was probably because Ray and Viv had challenged each other to a mini-drinking contest, trying to finish the remainder of Shaz's vodka between them, and Chris and Shaz weren't really noticing anyone but each other.

There were about three songs after that. Partway through Heroes, Chris and Shaz started kissing- although, it soon became clear that “kissing” was a bit of a gentle way of putting it. After a minute or two, Alex was aware of Ray sitting down next to her.

“Does he 'ave to rub it in like that?” he asked, his words more than a little slurred.

“Well, you know how it is- young love, a good helping of booze, these things happen. I'm sure he's not doing it on purpose.” She hoped that she sounded reassuring, but was also aware that she probably just sounded drunk, and not too helpful.

“I don't like it. I haven't since she showed up. Nothin's been right since then.” Alex was positive that she was missing something, but she wasn't sure what. Apparently Gene did, though. Standing up, he went to sit on Ray's other side.

“I know this hasn't been easy on you, Ray. But as DI Drake said, these things happen. Things change, people move on. Nothing anyone can do about it.” Move on? What did he mean? Then Alex got it. She glanced from Ray to Chris and back again. Well. That was an unexpected development. She was about to ask about it, when she noticed just how… close Chris and Shaz were getting on their log. Gene and Ray had noticed, too. Before either of them could stop him, Ray picked up a stick from the ground, and threw it at Chris's shoulder. It didn't look like it had hurt, but it snapped the two of them out of their daze, which Alex suspected had been the point.

“What was that for?” Chris demanded. Ray was about to respond, but Gene spoke instead.

“Just making sure you two don't forget where you are.” He turned to Ray. “Raymondo, would you mind stepping inside for a moment?” They stood up, and went into Gene's house. Alex thought about getting up too- not to follow them, just to stretch her legs a little. She stumbled to her feet, in her slightly drunken state thinking it somewhat appropriate that at some point during the last exchange, Heroes had been replaced with Tainted Love. She may not know the full history of her fellow police officers- which seemed like further evidence against them being constructs of her own mind- but there seemed to be something appropriate about that being the song that had been playing while all of this had been going on.

By the time Ray came back, they were partway through Mamma Mia. Alex's mind was back in 2008 again, remembering the trip she and Molly had taken earlier in the year, to see the movie Mamma Mia in the cinema. She was trying to remember the details of the trip- the type of popcorn they'd had, (salty, she was sure it had been salty) the seats they'd had, (near the back- or had it been nearer the front?) and the dad that she would've picked, had she been Meryl Streep in the movie (It had been Colin Firth, hadn't it? Or had she preferred Pierce Brosnan?) They were such small details, of just one day in her life. But she had to remember them. There was no other option. If minor details like that faded, then what would come next?

“You okay, Bolly?” She hadn't actually noticed Gene and Ray returning to the bonfire. She turned to look at her boss, forgetting that day in the cinema for now.

“Yeah, I was just thinking of something else.”

“You do that a lot,” he observed, and they lapsed back into silence.

Then, Mamma Mia faded out. It was dead quiet. Then, loud and clear from the tape deck, they heard it.

“What's new pussycat? Woah, woah, woah, woah! What's new pussycat? Woah, woah, woah, woah!” Alex barely had time to shout, “Skelton, duck!” before Ray's empty beer can sailed through the air, narrowly missing Chris's head.

“Oi!” Shaz snapped, grabbing the can off the ground. She was about to hurl it back the way it had come, when Chris plucked it from her hand. He set it back on the ground, and held up his own hands in surrender.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't worry, it's only on once.” They were all a bit sceptical, though- even Alex, who had by now realised that this was the song Chris had played on repeat the last time he'd been in charge of the music. “Or is it?”

“It bloody better be!” Ray said, his previous foul mood seemingly forgotten.

Eventually, What's New, Pussycat faded out. Once again, it was dead quiet. Then, they heard the opening to Dancing Queen, and the relief which swept the bonfire was almost palpable.

“You know,” Ray said after a moment. “I thought that song was a lot longer.” Slowly, he turned to look at Chris. “How many times did you have that on repeat last time?”

“Twenty,” Chris replied. “Though I put in a play of It's Not Unusual partway through, just to spice it up a bit.” In that moment, Alex wished she had been there to hear this. She shook the thought away, knowing it did no good.

“Yeah, I forgot about that.” For a moment, he looked across the bonfire at Chris, and Alex found herself believing that they had a history that she knew nothing about, the after-effects of which still lingered. Then it was over, and they were all in the present once again.

Another half hour or so passed, and they were all getting decidedly drunk by now. Alex was wondering just how bad her hangover was going to be tomorrow, when Gene nudged her arm.

“I'm gonna go in and grab a drink of water. D'you want anything?” She nodded, and followed him into the house. It was nice to walk around, she'd been sitting for far too long. Before she knew it, they were in the kitchen. It occurred to her that she hadn't thought this through- being alone and drunk, in a dark room with her equally drunk boss. It didn't help that the kitchen was kind of small, either, or that the door was shut.

Now, there were several reasons why Alex had never considered kissing her boss to be a wise idea. She'd wrote them down in a little list once, along with all of the other things she'd written out to try and sort this place out in her head. That list had included a lot of very sensible points, such as:

1\. You aren't even sure if he's real- kissing imaginary constructs is actually insane.

2\. He's your boss- unprofessional even in reality

3\. It sets a dangerous precedent, these things never end at the first kiss

4\. He's a first-class prick, surely you can do better than that.

Right now, though, all the sensible points in the world seemed insignificant. Right now, only three words came to her mind.

“Oh, sod it,” she muttered, before closing the gap between them and kissing him, just once, on the lips. There was a moment of silence, both of them watching the other, not sure what to do next.

“Alex,” Gene said eventually. Alex wasn't sure what to do- she was pretty sure he'd never used her first name- or if he had, then it was such a rare occurrence that it seemed like this was the first time. She'd gotten so used to being called Bolly, or Bolls, or sometimes Drake. Anything else was generally unheard of.

She could see where this was going- or at least, see a likely path forward. Gene would step forward and kiss her again, and she'd let him. The room was small, but there were still a few surfaces they could work with- counter-tops, walls, doors, even the floor if it came to that. And after that, they would go back to the bonfire, and… and then what? She couldn't commit to this, whatever it was. She couldn't get too attached. That had happened to DI Tyler, she remembered that from the reports. He'd fallen in love, and that love had been part of what had drove him to jump off a building. Alex couldn't do that. Once she got home, she needed to stay there. So, starting a committed relationship was not an option right now. Although, Gene Hunt didn't seem like the type of man who did committed relationships, so… _Oh, sod it_ , she thought again, and before she could think better of it, she kissed him again.

By the time they got back out into the garden, the fire was starting to burn low, Shaz had fallen asleep, her head resting on Chris's shoulder, and the others didn't seem far behind. Even the music had gone quiet. Gene dumped his water on the fire, putting out what was left of it.

“Right, I think that's the party over,” he announced. “Everyone, in- none of you are in a fit state to drive, you can stay here for tonight.” They all followed him into the house, too drunk and tired to protest.

It took a few minutes, but eventually a space was found for all of them. The couch was folded out into a bed for the night, where Chris and Shaz ended up crashing. Ray lost a coin toss with Viv, and got the sleeping bag instead of the zed bed. And Alex got the spare bedroom- which, considering what had happened in the kitchen, was a bit surprising. Still, it wasn't so bad- it would give her a bit of space to think about what to do next.

By the time she woke up the next morning, head pounding and swearing that she would never drink again, Alex knew what she had to do. She couldn't take back what had happened. That much was obvious. But what she could do, now, was make sure that nothing like that ever happened again. Let it be a one-off, a drunken one-night stand in her boss's kitchen. The only problem was, how to stop Gene from bringing it up every chance he got? They'd need to have a rule- what had happened the night of the bonfire stayed between them. Sort of like Las Vegas, or Fight Club.

By the time she made it downstairs, Gene was in the kitchen, making a cup of tea. _Great,_ Alex thought. _Of all the places we could be having this conversation._ It didn't help that she both looked and felt dreadful. This was one of the worst hangovers she'd had in years, and it was probably something she would have to note down once she got home, to be analysed properly once she'd sobered up a bit.

“Guv, have you got a moment?” It felt weird calling him Guv after last night, but if they were going to get back to normal, she would have to do it.

“It's Saturday, Bolly. We can have all bloody day if you want.” He paused, pouring a second cup of tea. “Now there's a thought, eh?” This. This was exactly why she'd been avoiding kissing Gene. Point three on her list, if she remembered correctly. It set a bad precedent.

“No, that's not a thought. That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.” That got his attention. Picking up the two cups of tea, he led her into the main room. Setting down the cups on the table, Gene took a seat. Alex sat across from him.

“What did you want to talk about, Bolls?” Alex was quiet for a moment, trying to think of how best to word this.

“I wanted to talk about last night, I suppose. And how… well, how what happened isn't going to happen again, I suppose. It can't, I'm sorry. I'm not… I'm not in a position to commit to anything right now. I'm not staying here long, remember? There's no point starting something I can't finish, is there?” It sounded so reasonable when she put it like that. Reasonable, but also sort of cold, and analytical. Like she was discussing how they were going to approach a tricky case, not the nature and direction of their relationship. She waited for him to say something, anything. Eventually, she drank her tea, and got to her feet. Maybe this was a bad time to be having this conversation after all.

“Look, I should go. I shouldn’t have tried to talk about this right now.” he headed out of the room. “Let's just pretend that last night didn't happen, and try and get back to normal on Monday.” With that, she left the house. She hadn't brought anything with her, besides her purse, which she'd brought downstairs. Her white jacket was by the door, and she grabbed it quickly before leaving. She was not going to look back, was not going to change her mind. She was putting a stop to this right now.

By the time she'd got home, however, she wished she hadn't left. Had this been 2008, she would probably send a text saying she was sorry right now. Hell, she would probably pull out her phone and find that he'd sent her a few texts first, wanting to know why she'd left. Instinctively, she reached into her pocket, before remembering that this was 1981. The only mobile phones that existed right now weren't commercially available, and would be too big to fit in her pocket anyway.

She probably should've gone back, tried again to have that much needed conversation. Instead, she spent most of the day sleeping off her hangover. It wasn't until the evening that she finally emerged from her flat, and headed straight down to Luigi's. Most of the team was there, minus Chris and Shaz. She went to sit beside Gene.

“Can we talk?” At first, she didn't think he would respond- and she wouldn't blame him if he didn't. It was almost a surprise when he nodded. They went to a smaller table near the back, Gene bringing his drink with him.

“I'm sorry about this morning,” Alex said once they were alone. Gene held up a hand.

“It's fine, Bolls. You were right, that was a bad time to be having that conversation. And maybe you're right about us, too. Daft, but right.” Alex wasn't actually sure that she _was_ right. It didn't feel that way, not here, not now. God, why did this have to be so complicated?

“It's probably for the best,” she said, as much to assure herself as to confirm what he was saying. “I mean, what would we even do? I'd want to go to the cinema, you'd want to go down the pub and watch football. It would never work out.”

And maybe she was right, and maybe she was wrong. But it didn't matter. Because this was the one aspect of this ridiculous world that she wasn't going to analyse, because it was the one aspect she couldn't afford to. Best not to think about it too much. Best not to get too attached, because it would only make it harder to leave when the time came.


End file.
